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The reason? No school looking to realign "makes sense." A few names that have previously been mentioned include BYU, Cincinnati and Boise State. It is worth noting the Big 12 currently only has 10 members. May 18 - 10:51 AM

Texas HC Charlie Strong confirmed his team will use a spread offense in 2015.

"We know we need to open it up some," Strong said. The head coach added they may not completely turn it over to the spread. Jerrod Heard and Tyrone Swoopes will compete for the starting job. Feb 4 - 3:20 PM

According to Chip Brown of HornsDigest.com, the SEC would not support a bowl match-up between Texas and Texas A&M.

Brown wrote that according to two sources close to the situation, "SEC officials have indicated to bowls with SEC and Big 12 tie-ins that the SEC won’t support a Texas vs Texas A&M postseason match-up." The reasoning is, apparently, because Texas A&M would lose face both for its program and its conference if they tripped up in the game. For his part, Texas athletic director Steve Patterson has previously said that he doesn't want his school to face A&M. Patterson's head coach, Charlie Strong, would actually like the two schools to face off again at some point, but it doesn't appear that it will be happening soon. Wed, Nov 19, 2014 05:09:00 PM

Texas HC Charlie Strong said that his team "wasn't comfortable" having a five-loss season.

He went so far as to say that a five-loss season "will never happen in this program again." The eternal optimism is nice, though "never" is a long time. Strong's team is on a three-game winning streak and has put together some nice efforts against the likes of West Virginia and Oklahoma State. "It's great to see this team continue to get better," Strong said. Mon, Nov 17, 2014 08:07:00 PM

According to Chip Brown of HornsDigest.com, the SEC would not support a bowl match-up between Texas and Texas A&M.

Brown wrote that according to two sources close to the situation, "SEC officials have indicated to bowls with SEC and Big 12 tie-ins that the SEC won’t support a Texas vs Texas A&M postseason match-up." The reasoning is, apparently, because Texas A&M would lose face both for its program and its conference if they tripped up in the game. For his part, Texas athletic director Steve Patterson has previously said that he doesn't want his school to face A&M. Patterson's head coach, Charlie Strong, would actually like the two schools to face off again at some point, but it doesn't appear that it will be happening soon.

Texas HC Charlie Strong said that his team "wasn't comfortable" having a five-loss season.

He went so far as to say that a five-loss season "will never happen in this program again." The eternal optimism is nice, though "never" is a long time. Strong's team is on a three-game winning streak and has put together some nice efforts against the likes of West Virginia and Oklahoma State. "It's great to see this team continue to get better," Strong said.

University of Texas athletics director Steve Patterson announced the school will soon begin paying its student-athletes $10,000 a year apiece to cover cost of attendance and likeness rights.

The figure, set by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in her O’Bannon trial ruling in August, will be split evenly, so that $5,000 will go towards cost-of-attendance and $5,000 will serve as payment for UT’s use of the athlete’s name and likeness. In all, the school will be on the hook for about $6 million. "If we begin to [further] remunerate the participants, that’s going to break that model," Chris Plonsky, director for women’s sports at Texas, said. The school hasn't announced when it will begin to make these payouts, though next fall seems like a reasonable guess. Texas is the first school to announce it will compensate its athletes beyond scholarships following August's O'Bannon ruling. Presumably, all Power Five program will follow suit.

An AFC scout said he was "shocked at the lack of talent on the [Texas] roster during my visit."

"(Texas coach) Charlie Strong has a big challenge in front of him," the scout said. The 2-4 Longhorns have beaten punching bags North Texas and Kansas and have only Big 12 matchups in front of them on the schedule. "There are no true game breakers outside of WR Daje Johnson," observed NFL.com's draft team. "RB Joe Bergeron had some talent but is no longer around after Strong kicked him off the team. RB Malcolm Brown should get drafted somewhere. Cornerbacks Cedric Reed and Quandre Diggs give the Longhorns two pretty good corners who should get drafted, too."

Drug tests administered to the Texas football team have almost doubled in the last eight months under new head coach Charlie Strong.

"An average of 104 drug tests per year during the 2010 to 2013 football seasons," while 188 drug tests have been administered by Strong in the last eight months, Wescott Eberts writes. In fact, Strong reportedly called for 104 drug tests during a stretch in March. "Timing" has apparently been the biggest difference in these new tests, as players do not currently know when to expect them compared to Mack Brown's policy. We can only assume a number of the dismissals at Texas are related to these changes.

The Texas football team was recently given a random drug test, according to Chip Brown of Horns Digest.

Brown suggests this could be the reasoning for the numerous recent dismissals by head coach Charlie Strong. Two players were dismissed from the team this past spring, and Brown points out it was due to failed drug tests. Running back Joe Bergeron, backup safety Chevoski Collins and running back Jalen Overstreet were recently dismissed for violating team rules. Horns Digest notes two more players are under review.

ESPN Insider's Travis Haney wrote that Texas head coach Charlie Strong has not made a strong first impression on the school's fanbase.

Haney attended a three-day coaching clinic at Angelo State in which Strong made an awkward speech that cemented in many the idea that he's a poor fit as Longhorns' coach. The argument seems to be that UT's coach must be an extrovert -- like Mack Brown -- and mustn't share Strong's introverted nature. "I think everyone was shocked. It was that bad," one coach said of Strong's speech. "It made me miss Mack," another joked, while a third stated: "If I was the coach at Texas, I would act like I had bigger balls than that." Haney crushed Strong for his cliché-ridden language, which is the wont of gold-fingered journalists. Strong is smart enough to understand that all this nonsense about his ability to communicate with boosters and impress the media with his diction will go away when he wins. Gregg Popovich and Bill Belichick were lambasted early in their careers for being standoffish. Nobody seems to care anymore.

The Wall Street Journal in January declared Texas as the most valuable program in college athletics at $875 million.

The Longhorns are followed in order by Notre Dame ($811.5 million), Michigan ($685.5 million), Ohio State ($674.8 million) and Florida ($660.8 million). Texas has struggled on the field in recent seasons -- costing Mack Brown his job -- but they are the biggest attraction in the football-mad state and boast the Longhorn Network. All those resources will help Charlie Strong continue to attract the nation's best players to Austin, but as Brown found out, results aren't expected, they are demanded.

The Texas Board of Regents approved contracts for Charlie Strong's first group of assistants.

All 10 assistants received three-year contracts. This is important because Texas has typically retained assistants on a year-to-year basis in the past. Defensive coordinator Vance Bedford got the biggest payday of the bunch and will net $760,000 in 2014.

Strong can earn incentives for such achievements as winning coach of the year, the Big 12 championship and the national championship. If the Longhorns finish in the top five, Louisville's former coach will receive a 3-percent bonus. If Texas finishes in the top 10, he'll take home a 2-percent bonus. Strong replaced Mack Brown as coach earlier this month.

McCombs told Strong that he has his "full support." He went on to apologize to the Longhorns' new coach. It was probably an awkward interaction. "I think the whole thing is a bit sideways," McCombs said of UT's selection process to replace Mack Brown earlier this week. "I don't have any doubt that Charlie is a fine coach. I think he would make a great position coach, maybe a coordinator. ... But I don't believe [he belongs at] what should be one of the three most powerful university programs in the world right now at UT-Austin. He also called the hiring a "kick in the face."

"I think the whole thing is a bit sideways," McCombs said of the selection process. "I don't have any doubt that Charlie is a fine coach. I think he would make a great position coach, maybe a coordinator. ... But I don't believe [he belongs at] what should be one of the three most powerful university programs in the world right now at UT-Austin. I don't think it adds up." McCombs, the former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Vikings, and a friend of former coach Mack Brown, previously lobbied for UT to hire former NFL coach Jon Gruden. McCombs has donated more than $100 million to the university.

Charlie Strong said, "It's time to put this program back on the national stage" in his introductory press conference as Texas' next head coach.

Strong replaces the deposed Mack Brown, who had been the head man at UT since 1998. "We will recruit with fire, and we will recruit with passion," Strong said. "We are devoted to making Austin the state capitol for college football." Strong told the media that no decisions have been made about his first Longhorns' coaching staff, but Orangebloods.com reported that Strong's defensive coordinator, linebackers coach and strength and conditioning coach will follow him from Louisville.